We believe that everyone deserves to attend Prom, which is why 17 years ago, the Prom Dress Project was started. The goal of the project is to ensure that students in Huron County and surrounding areas are able to attend prom and not worry about having to buy a dress if they are unable to afford one.

We receive donated new and gently-used formal dresses which are stored in our Prom Room located in our office. Students are required to call ahead of time and schedule an appointment to come check out the dress options and try them on. They must also bring in a referral form (signed by school staff that referred them). Students must bring a parent/guardian with them.

We have dresses for most shapes and sizes. If you are unsure whether we may have one for you, feel free to call and ask!

For anyone who has gently-used or new formal dresses to donate to the Prom Dress Project, please call our office 419-668-0269 or just stop by our office at 2 East Seminary St. in Norwalk.

]]>Day of Caring with Christie Lanehttp://www.norwalkunitedfund.org/day-of-caring-with-christie-lane/
Wed, 16 Aug 2017 20:07:58 +0000http://www.norwalkunitedfund.org/?p=1674Several months ago, Senior Enrichment Services let us know they needed a little landscaping work done in the front of their building. So we contacted several local agencies and businesses to see if they could help us out. Christie Lane was quick to volunteer!

We prayed for rain the night before, but instead of the easy way out, we were blessed with the opportunity to really use our muscles! So, six of us spent the better part of a beautiful Thursday morning digging out well-rooted weeds and pruning dead peony bushes to spruce up their little garden area.

Several days later, the Christie Lane Crew returned – this time to spread mulch! Once again, we spent a beautiful July morning making sure the landscaping at Senior Enrichment Services met it’s best potential. Below is a photo of the garden after we completed our landscaping checklist.

A big thank you goes to Joy Rusynyk, Community Coordinator at Christie Lane, who made this possible. In total, it took about 12 hours of volunteer time, and we are so very grateful for the time they give our community! Joy is always looking for community projects around Norwalk – if you have one she might be able to do – give our office a call and we’ll hook you up!

The Budget & Admissions (B&A) Committee is probably the most important committee within the United Fund. However, many have never heard of it or understand its role in improving our community. When an individual or organization makes a donation to the United Fund it is the B&A’s responsibility to ensure that those funds are put to good use. The Committee is comprised of dedicated volunteers from diverse backgrounds whom are tasked with evaluating each and every request for funding that the United Fund receives.

B&A members are required to conduct in-depth analysis of all aspects of a funding request. They visit with each requesting agency to evaluate need, fiscal responsibility and (most importantly), outcome. The B&A then makes recommendations to the United Fund Board of Directors as to which requests are to receive support.

It is imperative that dollars invested provide some lasting benefit to our community. Our mission is to support programs that break the cycle of poverty and enrich lives. We must be good stewards of the funds that are entrusted to us. It is a responsibility that we take very seriously.

Poverty is complex issue for all families who live without enough to survive. For those of us who live more comfortably in the middle class, we may not fully understand the causes (and effects) of poverty. Our basic instincts sound like, “Why don’t they just go out and get a job?” Or, “Why are they so lazy?” But these comments are off the mark in many cases.

There is not just one reason why a family is stuck in the cycle of poverty. Of course there are the individual behaviors and circumstances that can thrust a family into poverty, or keep them there. These are such things as credit-card debt, teen pregnancy, illness, disability or divorce to name a few. But sometimes it can be caused by businesses moving out of a region and taking valuable jobs somewhere else. The Greater Norwalk area has seen this happen in our recent history!

A lesser known cause of poverty is the exploitation of individuals, families and the community at large. In this case, such culprits are sub-prime mortgages, employment or labor violations in the workplace that keep people from increased success, drugs and alcohol that plague some people, day labor being the only source of income for workers (especially when there is very little of that available – think of Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”), and payday or title lenders who prey on the poor.

Finally, another cause of poverty is political and economic structures at organization, city, state, and national levels. Those who are in the wealth class are the ones who create the policies for providing for the poor, and yet wealthy lawmakers really don’t have any idea how their policies affect the impoverished. They’ve never been there, or if they have, they forget what it was like to try and make ends meet on a minimum wage job. Healthcare costs play a huge part in this aspect of poverty in that insurance is not affordable making healthcare financially inaccessible. Even with a basic insurance plan, the cost of deductibles and copays make doctor’s visits a last resort, as people know if they go they will end up with a huge bill no matter what. They don’t get the same care that those who have good insurance do, and so illness and disease go largely under-treated or untreated altogether.

So what can we do?

Become educated about the truth of poverty.

Put our judgments aside and be a part of the solution.

Treat every person, no matter their social or economic status, as fellow human beings.

Explore the hidden rules of the classes of poverty, middle, and wealth.

Encourage agencies and institutions to stop enable dependency and start empowering people to “Get Ahead.”

Encourage individuals to enroll in one of the United Fund’s twice-annual Getting Ahead Workshop.

Invest in a person by mentoring someone who is in poverty as they seek to move forward and move ahead.

]]>United Fund Days of Caring 2016http://www.norwalkunitedfund.org/united-fund-days-of-caring-2016/
Mon, 09 May 2016 16:01:46 +0000http://www.norwalkunitedfund.org/?p=772Six local organizations will gather together for a “United Fund Day of Caring” to help a local family by rehabbing their shower to make it wheelchair accessible. The project will begin Saturday, May 21 with demolition.

Coming to the United Fund office seeking advice and help, the Shinsky family of Norwalk, said their shower seat had worn through for the second time in ten years. Husband and father Joe, who is in a wheelchair, has to pull himself over to the shower seat. That daily routine has worn a hole through the seat for the second time.
Having worked with ACT (Answering the Call Together) in the past, we contacted Dave Wallace, executive director of ACT, and have partnered with them to get the project done.

We have received funding from the Norwalk Lions Club and ACT has secured volunteers to make the Day of Caring possible
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Wallace called upon our Norwalk Police and Fire Departments and Harry Brady of Carpenters Local #744. Both Police & Fire Chiefs and Brady will personally help complete the project along with other volunteers from those organizations over a 4 day period.

Wallace said, “People are coming together to care for our neighbors and make great things happen. We don’t always know who our angels are – most wish to remain anonymous – but local people have gathered together for United Fund and ACT projects in the past. We want to see it continue.”

“All of these organizations feel it’s important to give back to the community,” said Bersche. “We are still looking for 5 or 6 volunteers for Saturday May 21 to help with the demolition.”

Bersche continued, “But we couldn’t do this rehab without funding. The Norwalk Lions Club will provide funds through their Community Relief Fund with us. We are grateful that this local civic club is willing to help with this much needed shower.

Police Department volunteers will work Monday May 23, the Fire Department on Tuesday and Carpenters Local will finalize the project on Wednesday.

Although it will be difficult to be without the shower for 5 days, the Shinsky’s have family in town to help them out.